Les Soldes!! The sales are on! Cannes it must be...

Whilst the sales are on here in France it makes sense to talk about Cannes - one of the most fantastic and exclusive shopping opportunities in the world. There is enough retail therapy available to satisfy even the hardened gold card shopper. The nice thing about it is that unlike most cities, all the shops are quite close together and visiting all the designer stores in one day (on foot!) is a possibility.

Look at the top designer names which have outlets in Cannes. Classic French haute couture designers Chanel have had a shop on the Croisette for decades. In fact the Croisette is THE address for the best designer shops. Armani have an outlet on this famous street, selling both ladies and gentlemen’s attire; Italian designer Bellenciaga is on the Croisette; just along from them is Louis Vuitton, famous for their luggage and hand bags. Hermes are there as are Max Mara, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Jacques Loup. Bvulgari are on the Croisette as are Jimmy Choo, the famous shoe designer.  Gucci are represented and Dior who have also made a name for themselves in the perfume world have many of the rich and famous visit their store.

The Croisette in Cannes is the road which runs alongside the promenade beside the sea and above the dozens of top quality restaurants that are located on the sandy beach, and offer a very attractive possibility for a lunchtime gourmet meal by way of rest and relaxation should this be required.

Cannes is a wonderful destination, winter or summer. In the summer it usually remains temperate with temperatures seldom above 28 degrees and even in the depths of winter one can enjoy warm sunshine during the day when even the odd sun bather can be seen. Enough of the weather, and back to the shopping...

For those who cannot afford to or don't want to pay the inflated designer prices charged on the Croisette (my hand is raised!), there is the Rue d'Antibes. This runs parallel with the Croisette, and is a mere 100 metres or less away from it more illustrious cousin. It has an array of shops with the emphasis on clothing. Zara has two stores here, plus Diesel, Mango, Esprit, Madura, Diesel and Kenzo.  There are hundreds of other names you may not have heard of, but this is a more normal shopping experience. For the men there is Darty and FNAC with a wide array of electrical goods and gadgets.  This is much more the domain of the majority of us mere mortals who have to think about how much they are spending ;-)

Further along the town behind the port there is an even cheaper street with bargains galore.

Cannes is within easy driving or taxi reach of Nice airport which has daily or regular flights to and from all the 4 major London airports, Bristol, Manchester, East Midland, Leeds Bradford (in summer) and Liverpool, plus from many of the major French cities. There are even daily connections to New York and Montreal and several flights a week to Moscow and Dubai.

If flying is not your thing, why not consider the TGV.  It makes it easier to take back all those goodies you have acquired! You could get the Eurostar to Lille and then get a direct train to Nice or Cannes, or even stop off in Paris for a bit of a retail whetting of the appetite?